|
it is a mandatory 48 consecutive hours on your first DUI conviction in Kansas. This is 48 consecutive hours. You can't sit in a cell for 36 hours while getting processed, leave and then do 12 hours later - you have to do 48 consecutive hours in jail for even the first DUI. When I was in Legal Aid, there was a client who spent almost 46 consecutive hours in jail after his arrest and finally bonded out. He was convicted and had to serve 48 consecutive hours in jail. They couldn't give him credit for the 46 hours he'd already spent in jail. He had to start over on his time and he was pissed. (He wasn't my client.)
This guy can and probably will, if he is qualified, go for a diversionary agreement with the court. He'll have to undergo evaluation and a background check before a diversion is granted. It is standard procedure for all DUIs in Kansas courts to undergo drug-alcohol evaluations and background checks. Factors which will weigh against granting a diversion include previous alcohol related convictions or a previous diversion. Diviersions are the court's way of saying, yep you screwed up but you seem to be a good citizen and based on the evaulation the court doesn't think this will happen again. It isn't a complete pass, there are costs and the evaluation might suggest continued treatment. There is also the whole thing having your license suspended and insurance. These don't go away because a diversion has been granted. You can qualify for a diversion but you're license is still suspended. By the way, diversions remain part of the court record. If you get convicted and stay out of trouble for a long time you can get your conviction expunged. Diversions stay on the record. Oh yeah, and you have to disclose previous diversions and expungements when you apply for a diversion otherwise it is a basis for revocation and further charges (lying to the court). Also, when applying for certain jobs or for security clearances you have to divulge any and all convictions, diversions and expungements.
Also, if the defendant has been convicted of a previous DUI in Kansas, and this isn't true in every state, no matter how old it is, then this will be considered his second (or next sequentially numbered) DUI. If he's had previous convictions in Kansas they don't go away. In other states (and up until a few years ago this was true of Kansas), if you had not been convicted of a DUI in X-number of years, say, seven years, the conviction was considered antiquated and wasn't held against you (at the discretion of the court). This allowed someone who was convicted of a DUI while in college to not have it weigh as heavily against him if he was picked up when he was 45. That was changed. Now, no matter how old the conviction, it will always be on the record if you get picked up in Kansas.
On the other hand, in Kansas and other states, if you have multiple DUIs or other alcohol-related incidents you will be considered a habitual offender and this is considered an aggravating factor - i.e., stiffer sentence. I can't remember for sure but, I think it was something like, three convictions in less than five years.
|
Printer-friendly format
Email this thread to a friend
Bookmark this thread
(228 posts)
Send PM |
Profile |
Ignore
